CURRENT MISSION

...to take a few months to travel and re-assess my priorities and determine what I want to do next with my life.

ABOUT ME

I just left my job after 10 years of working as a non-profit fundraiser. I loved it but I lost balance. I plan to travel for a few months to re-assess my priorities, relax and have fun!

I'm curious, versatile, spontaneous, optimistic, love exploration and am fascinated by life. I grew up in a bi-cultural and bi-lingual household near Seattle, WA in the United States and have also lived in Mexico.

I love to spend time by/in the water. At home, I travel with a beach bag in my car, ready to go with a blanket, bikini and bottle of wine, just in case it’s a nice day out. I appreciate delicious views and staring at a star-filled sky. I enjoy walking through the city, love to explore new restaurants, love to dance (especially salsa!), like to be playful and active. I appreciate friends who like to have fun, are big-hearted, kind and easy going.

I enjoy exploring concepts, philosophies and ideas via conversation. I can watch an occasional movie but its usually a documentary or sci-fi. I'm very interested in immigrant and human rights issues across the world.

I make it out of the US about once a year and prefer the jungle over concrete jungle for the longer vacations. My favorites include the Brazilian Amazon, Puerto Rico and Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Bagan, Burma and Andaman Sea, Thailand.

Ask me about my first trip to Burning Man this year!

PHILOSOPHY

The world is your oyster. Take advantage while you can. You never know when your circumstances will change. People you love will die, you or your loved ones will have major health problems, disasters will happen. You will die, probably unexpectedly. Its okay. This is life. It is short, unpredictable and beautiful. Enjoy it while you can and don't take the negative stuff personally.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first couchsurfing experience, was hosting a woman I met at an open house for a non-profit.She was traveling up the West Coast of the US doing a tour of womens' clinics and didn't have a place to stay, so my boyfriend and I invited her to stay with us. I've now had a friend in Berlin for years!

Interests

Delicious food, adventure travel, bio-luminescence, good music, salsa dancing, flora and fauna, open air markets, water, good conversation, peace, beautiful views, exploration, social justice, interesting people, singing, reading, entertaining, camping, immigrant rights and social justice.

• singing
• documentaries
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• human rights
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• music
• camping
• scuba diving
• swimming
• history
• adventure travel
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I grew up playing classical viola and love all types of music.

Movies: I don't watch many movies or much TV but my favorite documentary was The Five Obstructions.

My favorite books:
Candide, Voltaire
Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart, Tara Bennett-Goleman
His Dark Materials, Phillip Pullman
1984, George Orwell
Shibumi, Trevanian
Sula, Toni Morrison
Farenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
Demian, Herman Hesse
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
Wild Seed, Octavia Butler
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe
Survivor, Chuck Palahniuk
Geek Love, Katherine Dunn
The Four Agreements, Miguel Ruiz
The Belgariad, David Eddings

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing experience I've had:
+The most beautiful thing I've ever seen was bio-luminescence in Mosquito Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico. A very intense magical experience.
+Spending time in the Brazilian Amazon
+Hearing en elephant tear down trees in the middle of the night by moonlight, from a high cliff overlooking the Serengeti.
+Experiencing the beautiful scenery and feeling the history of the thousands of Buddhist temples in Bagan, Burma (Myanmar)
+Scuba diving in the Andaman Sea and swimming with whale sharks

Teach, Learn, Share

Anything you want to teach or share, especially:
+what motivates you to do what you do
+how to cook your favorite meal
+what your greater philosophies are
+home remedies
+your bucket list
+lessons you've learned

I can teach or share with you:
+The state of the immigrant rights movement in the U.S.
+Stories about my first experience this year at Burning Man
+U.S. fundraising techniques
+My recipes

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Myanmar, Nicaragua, South Africa, Spain, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico